Note: Wixel Studios has since changed
the game’s name from Abou Ahmad the Arabian (AAA) to Survival
Race.

Today, Wixel Studios in Lebanon launched their latest
and most ambitious game: Survival Race. I had the opportunity to visit
the studio during the game’s production to meet the designers,
developers, and artists as they created the title.

The above video offers a tour through the
studio, showing how they design each level, manage the game
physics, mix the soundtrack, and turn 2D concept art into the 3D
game world. Check out the video for an inside look at game
development in Lebanon.

Wixel Studios was founded in 2007 by
husband and wife Ziad Feghali and Reine Abbas,
and Karim Abi Saleh. Straying from their previously cheeky and Arab
world-focused titles, they hope that Survival Race will be their
breakout game into the international market.

Gameplay

I tested Survival Race on both iPhone and
iPad, and found it to be pretty challenging at first, but you get
used to the controls and obstacles as you progress. The story takes
place in a post-apocalyptic world where Salem teams up with
botanist Abu Ahmad to reclaim the world from carnivorous mutant
plants that have all but destroyed the human race.

Players are tasked with transporting DNA
codes to their home base in order to decipher and defeat their
plant enemies. It’s a fun storyline, but the gameplay is where the
title really shines. Players use their right thumb to move Salem’s
vehicle forward and back, and their left thumb to adjust the angle
at which the car is pitched, affecting speed and allowing the
player to do tricks off ramps and land safely on the track.

There are a lot of elements to balance:
moving platforms, enemies firing at you as you drive, different
paths to complete each level, time limits, and upgrades to fight
back against your enemies. Survival Race is a lot of fun, but can
it propel them to international fame?

A Look Forward

After receiving investment from Berytech and Middle East
Venture Partners (MEVP), Wixel is banking on Survival Race to
propel them to success. But, as always, that’s up to their
consumers.

Pivoting from very localized and sometimes
irreverently titled games, like My Balls, Wixel is hoping that
their new international direction will pay off. The very name
Survival Race shows their hope to appeal to users outside the Arab
world.

In its current form, the game is already a
solid title, but they have plans to make it even better, with a key
functionality: multiplayer. Should the game become popular, they
hope to launch a multiplayer function allowing users to see the
“ghost car” of other real-time competitors on their screen,
competing against both time and other players.

They have a lot of other great additions
planned, but it all depends on how the game is received by users,
which will be largely affected by their monetization strategy.

Smartly, they’ve opted for phased levels
(on iOS), where users can play the first few
levels free and then, once they get hooked, they have the option to
purchase more levels. The Android version will be completely free
in Lebanon.

By allowing users to at least test the game
for free, they will likely see much more downloads than if they
used a straight premium model, which creates a huge barrier to
gameplay. Ads would clutter up the screen and, with a game that
requires both thumbs to play, could really hurt the gameplay;
they’ve chosen their strategy wisely.

Only time will tell if it pays off for
them, but I for one really enjoyed the game and hope to be able to
try out multiplayer in the future.

Check out the interview and tour in the
video above and see how they built Survival Race, balance their
work-family relationship, and hope to put Lebanon on the global
gaming map.